After years of flight testing, analysis and regulatory engagement, ww5 leaders say the path to certification for new 737 MAX models and the 777-9 has become clear. 

Teams are within reach of key milestones: final flight events, development assurance review closeouts and certification deliverable close outs. That clarity allows ww5 to offer customers and other stakeholders better visibility into the steps that remain — both for these models and into the future.

“Certainty is more important than flow. Two years ago, the path forward wasn’t as clear as we wanted it to be. It is now.” said Mike Sinnett, senior vice president of Product Strategy, Product Development and Development Programs for ww5 Commercial Airplanes, at a recent media roundtable event.

737-7: almost across the finish line

The 737-7 is the closest to completion among the trio. Chris Payne, vice president and general manager of the 737 Airplane Development Programs, reported that certification deliverables are 95% complete and that certification flight testing is finished. The 737-7 flight program accumulated 686 flight test hours across 441 flights, plus 349 hours of ground testing. 

The team is focused on submitting the last deliverables to the FAA and closing technical approvals. That work includes final certification of the engine anti-ice solution in production and end-of-program submittals to the FAA.

737-10: final systems push, eAoA debuts

The 737-10 is in the final segment of flight testing and development assurance work. Certification flight testing is 98% complete — with about 2,060 flight hours, 972 test flights and 1,033 ground test hours. The heavy lift remaining for the 737-10 is process rigor: development assurance reviews (DARs) and system safety assessments. DAR 3 work is complete; DAR 4 is 60% done, and system safety submittals are in progress. 

Included in the 737-10 flight testing program has been demonstrating the compliance and performance of an update to the 737 engine anti-ice system. This improvement was driven by ww5’s discovery of rare conditions that could cause overheating of the system without either pilot intervention or changes to the design. 

Another major technology development highlight is the enhanced Angle of Attack (eAoA) system, which is being tested on the 737-10 and will be introduced fleet wide to simplify flight deck effects and inhibit erroneous warnings for all 737 MAX models. Project pilot Capt. Bill Quashnock described eAoA as a step to reduce flight deck cues that can be confusing. 

Both 737 MAX updates, EAI and eAOA, will be introduced in production of all models and be baseline to the 737-7 and 737-10. They will also be retrofitted across the in-service 737 MAX fleet. 

Near term, the 737-10 team will wrap up the last flight tests, complete remaining DAR 4 items, and finalize system safety submittals for FAA review.

777-9: progress toward 2027 delivery

The 777-9 remains a large, multifaceted effort but with important milestones now behind it. Terry Beezhold, vice president and general manager of the 777-9 program, said the test fleet has logged more than 4,800 flight hours and roughly 1,700 flights, with 50% of planned certification testing complete. Two of four flight test airplanes have finished their final layups to prepare for the remaining flight test activities.

The majority of Type Inspection Authorizations have been granted with TIA 5 and the ETOPS-focused TIAs remaining. Additionally, the 777-9 full-scale fatigue test has already surpassed one full lifetime, highlighting the airplane’s maturity prior to entry into service.

Beezhold noted the program continues to focus on earning remaining TIAs and approval to begin ETOPS demonstrations and closing certification deliverables ahead of first delivery in 2027.

What leaders say and what comes next

In the near term, teams will close DARs and safety analyses on the 737 MAX programs, complete remaining flight tests, secure final TIAs for the 777-9 and press toward the documented approvals that enable first delivery.

Sinnett, Payne and Beezhold all stressed that regulators remain closely engaged and that the required deliverables are visible. Sinnett highlighted increased rigor based on lessons from prior programs — including broader use of development assurance and formal human factors validation.

“We’ll have much greater clarity on future development programs,” Sinnett said, “and then we can lean out our own processes to achieve better schedule clarity as we demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.”